A powerful storm has made landfall on the northern coast of Western Australia (WA).
Severe Tropical Cyclone Ilsa crossed the coast near Port Hedland just before midnight (17:00 BST) on Thursday as a category five storm.
It has since been downgraded to category three but still has the potential to cause significant damage.
Ilsa is expected to stay as a tropical cyclone during Friday before weakening overnight into Saturday.
Hours before it made a land, a red alert was issued – with thousands of people ordered to take immediate shelter.
It is the country’s most serious cyclone alert level. Under it, people are told to remain in the strongest, safest part of their homes and to stay away from doors and windows until they are given the all clear by authorities.
While northern Australia is no stranger to cyclones, this storm is the strongest to hit the region in 14 years.
The “very destructive core” of the storm will bring “extreme” wind gusts of up to 315km/h (195mph) in parts of the Kimberley and Pilbara regions, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said.
Winds of 218km/h were recorded on Bedout Island just off the coast as the storm touched down, setting a preliminary 10-minute sustained wind record, according to the BOM.
The previous record was 194km/h – winds that were recorded when Cyclone George hit Australia in 2007.
“There is a threat to lives and homes. You are in danger and need to act immediately,” the Department of Fire and Emergency Services said, when the red alert was issued on Thursday afternoon, local time.
Residents, including some 15,000 people in Port Hedland, the world’s biggest iron ore exporting port, have been placed under the red alert.
Port Hedland Mayor Peter Carter said evacuation centres had been set up in the town.
“Everyone is on edge,” Mr Carter told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “They understand that cyclones are what they are. They’re very, very unpredictable.”
He added that there were mixed emotions within the town, with some not too fussed, and others more concerned because cyclones this strong are quite rare.
Weather officials also warned of up to 400mm (15.7in) of rain and abnormally high tides, with the storm’s impact felt across a 600km (370 mile) region from Port Hedland to just south of Broome.
Some 700 residents from the remote community of Bidyadanga have been evacuated, the fire service has said.
In Port Hedland, iron ore carrying ships were reportedly being moved from the harbour. Mining company BHP told Reuters it was closely monitoring the situation, but its mining and rail operations were continuing.
The last category five cyclone to hit WA was Cyclone Laurence in 2009. Two years earlier, another category five storm, Cyclone George, killed three people as it tore through mining camps just south of Port Hedland.
